A Long Road Home
by rootsoftheashtree
Summary: It wasn't often I found myself regretting any decisions I made. I realized at a young age that no matter how much you wanted to change the past it was impossible. But as I found myself crashing into the dark ally walls with every high speed turn I took, it was almost impossible to outrun the regret... OCxDean
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't often I found myself regretting any decisions I made. I realized at a young age that no matter how much you wanted to change the past it was impossible. But as I found myself crashing into the dark ally walls with every high speed turn I took, it was almost impossible to outrun the regret.

Three days previously…

The smell of coffee grounds and the hushed chit chat of locals filled the empty space in the diner. Occasionally the bell on the door would ring as if to notify everyone on whether we were gaining or losing the presence of yet another. The barstool was cold and uncomfortable but more welcoming than the dim, cloudy weather outside. I shivered at just the thought of it as I caressed my cup of warm tea and read the newspaper article in front of me. I groaned as I saw the headline "Local Serial Killer Sucks Blood from Seventh Female". It was exactly the type of headline you didn't want to see when working on a case. Not only would it attract more law enforcement to the area (thinking it was just some human gone nut job, if only) but it also had a chance of tipping off the creature. Whatever it was, it could migrate to a different location or even go into a "hibernation" phase. The media could be a real bitch sometimes.

"Here you go hun!" The waitress interrupted my thoughts as she placed a plate of warm apple pie in front of me. It was the perfect thing to pull me out of my glum mood.

"Thanks!" I smiled back. I picked up my fork and started in on the pie as I skimmed the article. The only new information I got out of it was there were bite marks on the femoral and carotid arteries. I was working on this case for the past two days and the only other information I had was whatever this thing was, it was drinking all of its victim's blood and targeted females. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to the police chief. Word around town was that he was a dick who thought his shit didn't stink.

When I heard the bell on the door ring I automatically pulled my olive green parka tighter around me, bracing for the cold gust of air. Out of the corner of my eye I caught two men in suits sit down a couple stools down from me. My instincts told me they weren't feds, they were hunters.

"Well that guy was a real dick." One of them declared. I grinned knowing they must have talked to the police chief, which meant if I listened carefully I wouldn't have to make the trip.

"I'm just glad that's over," the other one said shaking his head, "After he stopped rambling about his life achievements he did bring up how all the victims were single and the last place they were seen was the night club."

"That would explain the pictures taken at the crime scene. They all looked like the girls in casa erotica…well minus the whole dead part."

"You would notice that." You could hear the annoyance in the second ones voice.

"Hey you can't blame a man for…" he suddenly stopped talking.

I continued to stare down at my paper but I had an overwhelming urge to look up and see what had happened. I slowly peeked around my long, dark brown hair. I was stunned to see a pair of green eyes looking straight into mine. I felt my skin grow warm. I knew this feeling and it terrified me. This guy was dangerous, not to my physical health but my mental health. Something I swore I would never put at risk again. But why was it so hard to pull my eyes away from his?

"Dean, leave the girl alone." It snapped me out of my daze. I whipped my head back to my plate of half eaten pie. I knew if I left now I wouldn't be able to hear more about the case but seconds felt like minutes and minutes, hours. I tried calming down but it was useless, every bone in my body wanted out. I dropped a twenty on the counter, picked up my newspaper, then made a beeline for the door.

I made it to the parking lot when I heard the bell ring on the door. I was pretty sure my heart stopped.

"Hey wait!" The gruff voice of an apparent Dean called out. I was almost at my truck when I felt a hand on my wrist. My self defense kicked in as I dropped my paper, turned around, and planted my foot against his chest, sending him flying into the car next to mine. I was clearly too slow trying to open my door because he had me pinned to it before I reached the handle. I could take down a monster twice my size but a guy who made my knees weak was a whole different story. I looked up straight into his eyes trying to look more brave than defeated, bad idea. When our eyes locked again my brain got all cloudy. He wasn't saying anything, just looking back at me.

"Are you going to say why you chased me out here or are you going to stare at me all day?" I finally managed to speak.

"Errmm right. You left your bag inside. I hope there wasn't anything important inside because I dropped it when you went all Jacki Chan on me." He still had my arms pinned to the car when I felt my sleeve drop. His eyes darted over noticing my anti-possession tattoo on my wrist. He then looked down at the paper which was conveniently open to the article about the dead women.

"You're a hunter?" He seemed concerned.

"Gee, what gave it away?" My voice was coated with sarcasm as I put up my wall.

"Not a friendly one either." He retorted.

"I might be nicer if I wasn't pinned against my car."

"Well you wouldn't be pinned against your car if you hadn't kicked me."

"Well usually when a guy chases a girl outside it doesn't end—"

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" The other guy came running out interrupting our argument. Dean looked from him, back to me.

"Uhh..." he released his grip on me and raised his hands, "It was all self-defense. I swear." Dean looked a little embarrassed.

"Yeah sure. Sorry about my brother, my name is Sam," he held a hand out to me. I shook it sensing he had a genuine niceness to him. "and this is my brother Dean." He motioned towards Dean who had his arms crossed and even seemed to be pouting. Wait, Sam and Dean. I had definitely heard those names before.

"Are you Sam and Dean Winchester?" They gave each other this look then Dean spoke up. "In the flesh."

Damn. Almost every hunter knew who these guys were. Sam wasn't someone I was worried about. Yeah he was Satan's vessel, opened the gates of hell, and at one point didn't have a soul; but that wasn't something that concerned me. It was Dean, Mr. Womanizer. The guy who had all the girls melting in their shoes because he was blessed with amazingly good looks and knew his way around the bed. I knew the type of guy he was, hell I dated that type of guy. Sam didn't scare me. Dean, however, did.

"Well, it was nice meeting you two but I should really be going. I'm working this case in town and I really need to wrap it up." I tried to exit smoothly but that's when Sam spoke up.

"Wait, we didn't even catch you name."

I looked over my shoulder, "Riley McKinley!" then I opened my car door. I should have known it would be that easy when I saw Deans arm shoot up and close the door.

"Woah woah woah, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I told you, I have to work this case." That obviously wasn't the reason. Every time I looked into Dean's eyes I saw the reason.

"Well if it's the same one we are working on, why don't we work together?" Sam asked. I knew these guys weren't going away anytime soon. And I knew if it was any other case I would have loved the help. I exhaled deeply. "Yeah that would probably be a good idea."

"Awesome," Dean said, "so where are you staying?"

The corner of my mouth tugged down. This was going to be torture.


	2. Chapter 2

After our conversation I bitterly drove back to the motel with the Winchesters in pursuit. When we reached the motel I leaned back in my seat and took a deep breath. I wasn't going to let Dean get to me. He hadn't pulled any kind of moves so far so I didn't know why I was so worked up. But the more I thought about it the more I began to wonder, why wasn't he pulling any moves? I had worked with a couple female hunters and the ones that had slept with him were gorgeous. I knew I probably didn't hold a candle to any of the others.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I shot straight up out of my chair, banging my head on the ceiling.

"Damn it!" I shouted grabbing my head. I peeked through my hair, out my window to see the corners of Dean's mouth twitching, trying his best to hold back a smile. Maybe even shaking a little. I opened my car door and hopped out still holding onto my head.

"What do you want?" I asked a little too aggressively.

"Just wondering where the sign in desk is." He stumbled through his sentence and allowed a small grin to break though. I raised an eyebrow and pointed to the sign that said _Reception Desk_. His eyebrows pulled together as he turned to look then he pulled the "Oh yeah I knew that" face as he looked back at me.

"Do you need me to hold your hand or you can manage it by yourself?" I asked sarcastically. I was surprised when he reached out his hand.

"Wanna get some ice for that?" He chuckled. I played into his game a little and playfully swatted his arm.

"Idiot." I smirked letting him know I forgave him. I could feel my wall coming down a little. "You and Sam go grab a room. I'll meet up with you guys later." I smiled and started walking towards my room.

"Wait," Dean called out, "how will you know what room we are in?"

"I'll just ask the receptionist what room the gay lovers are staying in." My witty response got me a wide eyed speechless stare. I took off before he could say anything else.

When I got to my room I realized I had the biggest smile on my face. I reached up to touch it as it faded. I knew what trusting him would do. I gave in a little but I couldn't help it. I knew I was only being held together with tape and glue. The last time I developed feelings this quickly it ended with a heart ache I couldn't afford again. I would let myself be friendly with the Winchesters but that was as far as it could go.

I climbed the creaking stairs to their room, files in hand. I didn't have any problem finding out what room they were staying in. Apparently they were the only other people staying at the motel. No one wanted to be in a town with an on-going serial killer investigation going on. When I reached their door I didn't even have to knock before it was flung open. A surprised Dean was on the other side.

"Jeeze," I was startled, "were you waiting for me or something?"

"No," he looked just as thrown back as I did, "I was going to go looking for you." He reached up and started to rub the back of his neck before he continued, "You know. Monsters on the loose seeking out single females." He threw in a nervous laugh at the end and flashed a smile. My heart jumped a little bit then I shook my head.

"So you're assuming I'm single?" I brushed off the feeling that he cared if I was safe or not. My wall was standing strong.

"Uhh no no I didn't mean that. It's just people in this line of work don't normally have serious relationships." I could tell he was scrambling but talking wasn't helping out his case at the moment.

"Well that's your opinion, not that I'm surprised." I retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I clearly offended him.

"You guys do know I can hear everything," Sam shouted from inside the room, "Get in here you sound like a married couple." I marched past Dean into the room. When Sam looked up he noticed we were both giving him our best bitch face.

"Okayyy, Riley can I see the folders before you rip them in half?" Sam asked. I realized I had a pretty good white knuckle grip on the papers. I quickly handed them over.

There room was similar to mine. A small table right by the window topped with tacky curtains, two chairs, two beds, and a cheap wood door that lead to the bathroom. I walked over to the bed next to the table and plopped myself right on the edge so Sam was across from me. I assumed Dean would take the second chair at the table. Imagine my surprise when he sat right next to me. I rolled my eyes and noticed Sam was looking at Dean with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Dean asked noticing Sam and I's looks, as if he was innocent.

"Nothing," Sam responded then turned to me, "Did you steal these from the Police Station?"

I shrugged and laughed, "Yeah I didn't feel like dealing with the chief. I heard he was a dick." That got a laugh out of the two brothers. Dean stood up and grabbed three glasses and a bottle of whisky. The night continued about us discussing the evidence we had and trying to figure out what the creature could be. We all were getting along really well and with the help of some whiskey, my Dean related stress started to fade. Drinking around him probably wasn't the best idea but I needed to curb my anxiety before my hair started to fall out.

"So we have it narrowed down to two options," Sam concluded, "Vampires or Vatala." The mention of "vampire" caused me to lightly shudder.

**Flashback**

(17 years ago)

"Please," I choked out through my sobs, "you need to save them, please!" I cried to my aunt and uncle.

"There is nothing we can do to save them." My aunt said coldly. They were rushing me away from my home. I didn't want to, my parents were back there.

"No! I can't just leave them there!" I fought back.

"Enough," My uncle shook me while yelling in my face, "They didn't even train you to defend yourself. How do you expect to defend anyone else?" My crying only intensified. No one had ever laid a hand on me in a violent manner before.

"I don't want to defend anyone! I want my mommy and daddy!" I cried.

"You only have us now. And we are going to make sure you are raised the right way." Said my aunt.

**End Flashback**

"Riley," Dean gently shook me, "are you okay?" My eyes came back into focus. I noticed Dean's face was inches from mine. The alcohol helped me not freak out as I allowed myself a couple more seconds of looking doe eyed at him. Looking into his eyes helped me shake off the violent memory.

"Yeah," I blinked as I looked away from him feeling safe again, "just a little drunk." I giggled trying to convince him. I knew I hadn't but I didn't care. The last thing I wanted was to have a Dr. Phil moment with the Winchesters.

"Okay, why don't we pick this up tomorrow?" Sam said. We all stood up. I headed to the door, Sam to the bathroom, and Dean…right behind me.

I didn't say anything till we got outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked him accusingly and laughed so he didn't take me too seriously. Drunk me apparently gives Dean more leeway than she should. We continued toward the stairs.

"Hey," Dean laughed putting his hands up, "I'm just trying to walk you to your room and keep you safe." He said as he stumbled. He clearly had too much to drink too.

"Dean, if something did happen you would be too drunk to save me!" I pointed out the obvious.

"I happen to be a very stable drunk." Dean said as he scooped me up in his arms and carried me down the stairs. I looked up at him and could tell he had to focus pretty hard but he still managed it. When we reached the bottom he still didn't put me down.

"Okay Superman-"

"Batman!" He cut me off.

"Whatever, you've proven your point," I teased. If I had been sober for this I might have flipped my lid. "My room is right here anyway." I said as we reached my door. He let his arm drop from under my legs, making my feet hit the ground faster than I expected. If he didn't still have his arm across my back I might have fallen.

"Well thank you for the lift back." I thanked him looking up at him. We locked eyes again but I felt more safe this time than scared.

"Anytime," he replied. Our faces got closer.

"So, umm, I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked. Closer.

"Do you want to?" He asked. Closer. Our foreheads were touching at this point.

"You'll never find out." I ducked under his arm and opened my door. "Night Dean!" I called from over my shoulder. Before I shut my door I got a glimpse of his face. He looked shocked but had a smile on. Drunk me wasn't so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

I was belly down, arms crossed underneath my pillow, the perfect sleeping position to always have my silver knife within reach. Through the tousled locks of hair that fanned over my face, I saw the sunlight being pulled into my dark room through the broken shades. Focusing on the specks of dust that danced through the sun beams, it seemed as though the world were still for that moment. Then I remembered the life a lead and that I couldn't enjoy the moment for too long. I scanned the room for any potential threats using my eyes and ears, flipped over onto my back to check the other side before a quick stretch. I pulled the covers off and walked to the bathroom.

I had just turned off the water in the shower when I heard a knock on the door. However, it was the fact that the knock came from the bathroom door that caused adrenaline to flow through my veins. I reached to the counter and gripped my knife, slowly made my way over to the door, and slowly placed my hand on the door knob.

"Riley, I swear to god if I wind up with a knife somewhere in me I'm not going to be happy camper."

I froze in place. Anger boiled inside me once I realized the voice belonged to Dean.

"Son of a bitch," I flung the door open and there he stood coffee and donut in hand. His eyes were big and lips pressed into a thin line.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" I snapped.

"There was free breakfast and I thought you might like some…"

"So you break into my room instead of calling first?!"

"Aw come on, that wouldn't have been any fun! Plus I get to see you in a towel…" His eyebrows shot up and down. I felt my face grow very warm. I snatched the coffee from his hand and slammed the bathroom door shut in his face. Luckily I had brought my clothes in the bathroom with me. I quickly threw on my jeans, underwear, and white V-neck before I stormed out of the bathroom. I put my coffee on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed while I was putting my socks on. Dean moved across the room and sat on the bed opposite from mine, hunched over, just looking at me.

There was no way in hell I was going to look up at him. I could feel his piercing green eyes staring at me though. Waiting for a damn response. I wonder if he could tell he was causing me mental strain because it was taking me especially long to put on my left sock. I struggled for a few more minutes with the other one before I said something.

"What is it?" I asked still not making eye contact. I heard him draw a long breath in then run is hand over his chin.

"So last night…" He began before I cut him off.

"Nothing happened last night." I felt a tightness in my chest.

"Exactly," he continued. "which was pretty upsetting because I feel like…"

"Listen," my eyes shot up to his making full eye contact, "I don't trust you, I don't do random hook ups, and I don't do players. I'm here to work a job then move onto the next one. And and…" It was so hard to figure out what I was going to say next because staring into his eyes too long does that to me. "And you distract me!" probably not the best thing to say to a guy you're trying to get rid of. Go Riley.

His eye brows pulled together. Like he was really thinking about what he was going to say next.

"Well, I really like you. And I don't blame you for not trusting me, I mean I wouldn't. You're first impression of me is stuff other people have said and I mean I did chase you out to your car so…" He got a smirk out of me with that one. "What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry. I came on really strong and the last thing I want to do is scare you away. I want to get to know you better."

I couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. I could feel my heart break because I so badly wanted to believe what he was telling me, but at the same time I couldn't trust it. He could have said the same things to countless other girls. But my gut was telling me he was genuine.

"Like every other person in this line of work I have a pretty messed up past," I began. "I don't trust easily at all. In fact, I don't think I have trusted anyone. The one person I did sold me out to the people who forced this life upon me. So I can't promise you anything at all. I can say that I will finish this case with you, and you may get to know me a little better, but afterwards I don't know where I will end up." Little did he know that in those few short sentences I had given more of myself to him than I had to anyone in the past few years.

"I can live with that for now." He smirked.

"Good." I said pushing my palm into his forehead, forcing him backwards onto the bed. I jumped up, slipped on my boots, jacket, snatched my coffee back up, and ran out the door.

Hey guys! Sorry I have been gone a while. I am doing program which is basically a full time job plus my regular job so I get very little hours to myself. Also a very massive writers block! I did not get to go through and edit this chapter to my best ability because I just wanted to get something out there for those who have been asking. I am on vacation now so I will try to write as much as possible for future uploads! I have been constantly thinking about future things to add so hopefully you enjoy this! Stay tuned!


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